An investigation has been opened by diplomatic police after the Egyptian deputy ambassador to South Africa was involved in a parking lot row, where he was allegedly intimidated and verbally assaulted. Monzer Selim, who has been stationed in South Africa for six months, said he tried to park between two poorly parked vehicles at the Lynnwood Bridge shopping centre. “The two cars, a Citroën C1 and a Mazda CX-5 that had just been parked, were both poorly parked. As I was trying to manoeuvre into the space, a car guard explained to the gentleman in the Mazda that he was parked incorrectly and that I was trying to get in,” Selim said. The man in the Mazda then apparently noticed the diplomatic registration plates, got out of his car and started verbally abusing Selim. “He said ‘you f****** diplomats shouldn’t be here. Go back to your own country.’ The owner of the Citroën, a woman, then joined in the abuse of Selim. “Unfortunately there are still prejudiced, racist and xenophobic people,” Selim said. He added he has filed a report with the department of international relations and cooperation (Dirco).